The seemingly endless flow of superannuation funds and investor money has propelled Netwealth founder and joint managing director Michael Heine into the membership of two exclusive clubs this year.

Mr Heine will debut on the Financial Review Rich List when the 2018 edition is published on Friday and is also one of 16 new billionaires, bringing the total number of Australians worth $1 billion or more to a record 76.

The billionaire ranks began in 1987 when, only months before the "Black Monday" stockmarket crash in October that year, the BRW Rich 200 had Robert Holmes a Court and Kerry Packer at the top of the list. The late duo were then valued at $1.4 billion and $1.3 billion respectively.

By 1989, Mr Packer was the nation's only billionaire – a title he held for several years. It would not be until 2002 when the billionaire ranks would hit double figures, with the 10 names, including existing figures such as Kerry Stokes, Len Ainsworth and Gerry Harvey.

Billionaires have come and gone since then – solar panels magnate Shi Zhengrong's three-year run ended in 2009 following the global financial crisis – but the numbers have steadily grown. There were 29 in 2010, 36 in 2013 and 60 a year ago.

Mr Heine's wealth of $1.27 billion is mostly tied to shares in Netwealth, including those of joint managing director and son Matthew and Mr Heine's brother, Leslie. He makes the list thanks to the spectacular float of the wealth management platform company on the Australian Securities Exchange last November.

Melbourne-based Netwealth provides wealth management products and services to financial advisers and wealthy investors via its proprietary in-house platform. It is not aligned with any banks or other financial services groups and Mr Heine says it has been winning business as disillusioned financial advisers look for independent platforms in the fall-out of the banking royal commission.

"We have already seen a significant shift by advisers out of the majors and this trend has accelerated in recent times and will continue to in light of the royal commission and the likely outcomes," Mr Heine told The Australian Financial Review.

"As institutions sell or exit product and advice distribution, those advisers and wealth managers will naturally look to work with a specialist platform operator like Netwealth. Whilst we had only 1.9 per cent of the $800 billion platform market at the end of December 2017 we achieved over 21 per cent of the total net flows for the previous 12 months, the second highest in the industry – which highlights the changing market."

Netwealth has $16 billion funds under management invested across various asset classes, including ASX-listed companies.

Netwealth appears among the top 20 shareholders in at least 130 companies, including Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Origin Energy, Telstra and Woolworths.

Fruit and vegetable giant Costa Group, which counts Rich List member Frank Costa as a big shareholder, has been a wise holding for Netwealth, having risen about 70 per cent in a year, while Reliance Worldwide is up about 42 per cent in the same time.

Minnow investments deliver

How the rich invest - Michael Heine

Netwealth also has shares in dozens of small and micro companies, some of which have proven to be fantastic investments in the past year.

One is Blue Energy, a junior oil and gas explorer with assets in Queensland's Bowen Basin and the Northern Territory. Blue Energy shares have almost trebled in the past 12 months, though have fallen about 10 per cent since January 1. Rich Lister Kevin Seymour is also a shareholder.

Other holdings include Allegiance Coal, which has high hopes for a big coal deposit in Canada's British Columbia, and Sayona Mining, which has a lithium project in Quebec in the country's east. Allegiance shares are up about 140 per cent in the past 12 months while Sayona has risen 120 per cent.

An even bigger riser has been Perth miner Lepidico, which has surged 236 per cent in the same time. Lepidico owns the L-Max technology, which it claims has the potential to commercially extract lithium and other mineral by-products from unconventional sources.

Heine, who runs Netwealth with son Matthew, will debut on the 2018 list when it is published on Friday as a billionaire thanks to spectacular float of Netwealth on the ASX last November.
Peter Braig

Other big risers include Axsesstoday​, which provides equipment leasing finance for industries such as hospitality and transport, and semiconductor technology business Bluglass. Axsesstoday is up 45 per cent in a year and Bluglass has risen 47 per cent.

Netwealth has shares in Queensland bauxite and iron ore explorer Metro Mining, whose shares are up 81 per cent in a year, and Nearmap, which also has renowned investor David Paradice on the register. Shares in Nearmap, which utilises high-resolution mapping technology, have risen 82 per cent in 12 months.

The 2018 Financial Review Rich List is published Friday in The Australian Financial Review Magazine and online at afr.com

The Rich List 2018 is published in the AFR Magazine on Friday, May 25, inside The Australian Financial Review.
KIM HAUGHTON